Malakai Black and AEW reportedly have issues.

Rumor has it the proprietor of the House of Black has asked for his release for a litany of reasons, including for how he's been booked, and after almost having to retire due to a long-standing back injury, the prospects of Black's time in AEW potentially coming to an end have hung over Tony Khan's promotion for some time now.

Fortunately, those whispers of retirement and/or a requested release couldn't have been further from the penultimate match of All Out 2022, as Black and his faction mates, Brody King and Buddy Matthews, were booked to look like absolute stars.

From their new intro, with Julia Hart appearing at the top of the stage, to their new green lights and even spookier – if that's even possible – presentation, Black and his housemates put on a show versus Darby Allin, Miro, and Sting, with the heelish trio clearly the more polished unit in the ring. From teammate maneuvers, to King's typical ‘small guy in a big guy's body' offense, the house looked borderline unstoppable, with only an act of god stopping the trio from securing the win.

Related NewsArticle continues below
WWE star Becky Lynch, who roasted Bayley and former star Sasha Banks, aka Mercedes Moné in AEW, at WrestleMania 39.
WWE’s Becky Lynch roasts former star’s business venture
CM Punk reacts during the Men s Royal Rumble match at Tropicana Field.
CM Punk reveals why he chose AEW over WWE in 2021
Former WWE and current AEW star Ricochet, who recently criticized Nick Khan, jumping off of Braun Strowman.
Former WWE star rips Nick Khan: ‘These guys f**king suck’

Fortunately, such an act ultimately occurred, as, in a twist of fate few saw coming, Sting sprayed a black mist of his own into the eyes of Black and blinded him for long enough for Allin to hit the coffin drop and secure the win.

What's the deal? Can people who were sprayed by Black make black mist of their own? Is Cody Rhodes going to be spraying Brandi while he's working back from his pec injury? Either way, it's clear Khan is leaning into Black's character work in the hopes of making him happy, which, at this point, is probably all he can do to smooth over the tension between the two sides.